The punditocracy is amusing itself by trading rumors about who Obama might tap to fill key leadership posts. Here are names that have been circulated thus far for environment-related positions. Warning: wild speculation to follow.
EPA Administrator
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., attorney for Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council
Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board
Carol Browner, EPA head under President Clinton
Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona
Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas
Kathleen McGinty, former head of Pennsylvania EPA and chair of President Clinton’s White House Council on Environmental Quality
Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute
Dan Esty, Obama energy adviser and environmental law professor at Yale
Ian Bowles, secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs for the state of Massachusetts
Lisa Renstrom, former president of the Sierra Club
Lisa Jackson, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Secretary of Energy
Jason Grumet, Obama energy adviser and president of the Bipartisan Policy Center
Ed Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania
Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives for Google.org
Phil Sharp, former Democratic representative from Indiana and current president of Resources for the Future
Jeff Bingaman, Democratic senator from New Mexico and the current chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico and former secretary of energy under President Clinton
Jennifer Granholm, governor of Michigan
Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas
Secretary of Transportation
Earl Blumenauer, Democratic representative from Oregon
Steve Heminger, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the Bay Area
Ed Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania
James Oberstar, Democratic representative from Minnesota and chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Peter DeFazio, Democratic representative from Oregon and chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Janette Sadik-Kahn, commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation
Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration
Mortimer Downey, deputy transportation secretary under President Clinton
Secretary of Interior
Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico
Brian Schweitzer, governor of Montana
Jamie Rappaport Clark, Fish and Wildlife Service director under President Clinton and current executive vice president at Defenders of Wildlife
Jay Inslee, Democratic representative from Washington state
Tony Knowles, former governor of Alaska
Jennifer Granholm, governor of Michigan
John Kitzhaber, former governor of Oregon
Ken Salazar, Democratic senator from Colorado and former executive director of Colorado Natural Resources Department
Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa
Tom Buis, a former aide to Sen. Tom Daschle and president of the National Farmers Union
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Democratic representative from South Dakota and former director of the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation
Charles Stenholm, former Democratic representative from Texas
Jim Leach, former Republican representative from Iowa
Collin Peterson, Democratic representative from Minnesota and chair of House Agriculture Committee
Climate Czar
Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico and former secretary of energy under President Clinton
Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California
Terry Tamminen, a top adviser to Schwarzenegger and head of the California EPA from 2003 to 2004
John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress and former chief of staff to President Clinton
Carol Browner, EPA head under President Clinton
Al Gore, former vice president and um, well, Al Gore
For more on potential Cabinet members, see Grist’s list of top picks.
